Oct 16, Colombo: The Presidential Commission of Inquiry appointed to probe corruption and abuse of power during Sri Lanka's previous regime has decided to continue its proceedings against the former president Mahinda Rajapaksa rejecting his objections.

The Presidential Commission of Inquiry Investigating and Inquiring into Serious Acts of Fraud, Corruption and Abuse of Power, State Resources and Privileges (PRECIFAC) has rejected the objections raised by the former president and decided to continue with its mandate.

Rajapaksa appeared Friday before the Presidential Commission for a second day in a row.

During yesterday's proceedings, the former president's legal counsels raised objections to the composition of the commission pointing out that the appointment of High Court judges to the Commission is unconstitutional.

Following the objections the proceedings were suspended for the day and a decision on the objections was postponed for today.

Rajapaksa is being questioned by the Commission over the non-payment of dues to the state-owned television Independent Television Network (ITN) for broadcasting advertisements for his 2015 presidential campaign.

An audit inquiry has found that the ITN has incurred losses over Rs. 101 million as Rajapaksa has failed to pay the dues to the state TV for advertising his election campaign.